The Bouquet of a Life
by Celinarose
Summary: It begins with a cheerful yellow rose, but in the end all that is left is regret.


_**Yellow Roses**_

 _And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass I rolled down_  
 _I was younger then, take me back to when_

"Hello," he said softly. The little girl looked up at him curiously.

"My name is Severus," he added, watching her with interest. "You're a witch."

She frowned. "That's not a very nice thing to say to someone."

"It's true. You have magic."

"Tuney says I'm a freak," Lily pouted.

"She's wrong, then." He opened his palm to show her a small flower nestled in it. A yellow rose.

She took it in her own hands, concentrating on it for a few seconds before turning it into a blue butterfly that flew right past Severus' head and into the trees nearby.

"How do you know about magic?" she asked, looking him straight in the eye.

He shrugged.

"My Mum is a witch too. She taught me some when I was younger. Before my father..."

Lily raised an eyebrow, but eventually decided that whatever it was that her new friend's father did, it could not be more exciting than the prospect of learning magic. Besides, he didn't seem inclined to share any further details himself, so she did not push it, choosing instead to take his outstretched hand and head to the lakeside.

* * *

 _ **Ivy**_

 _And I miss the way_  
 _You make me feel_  
 _And it's real_  
 _When we watched the sunset over the castle on the hill_

"Did you meet him in the hallways again?" she asked, concern evident in her voice, as she saw the bruises on his cheek. "Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?"

Severus shook his head with a short, cynical laugh. He winced as Lily pressed the ice-cold cloth to his hurt skin. She then reapplied the cooling charm.

"James Potter is an arrogant toe rag!" she said indignantly.

"He's besotted with you, you know." It hurt Severus to say it aloud, even though he knew it was true. He hadn't told her that he was besotted with her as well. His sole consolation was that Lily detested Potter nearly as much as he did.

"I don't want anything to do with him! He behaves terribly with you."

Severus smiled slightly in spite of himself.

"Better?" she inquired, mistaking his smile for one of relief.

He nodded quietly, enveloping her in a warm hug before he stood up to return to the Slytherin common room. Doing so, he noticed a small ivy flower stuck in her auburn hair. He plucked it away gently, and handed it back to her, before wishing her a good night.

* * *

 _ **Petunias**_

 _I found my heart and broke it here_  
 _Made friends and lost them through the years_  
 _And I've not seen the roaring fields in so long_

"James, stop it! Let him go!" Lily was shouting at the top of her voice. James dropped his wand, causing Severus to fall about ten feet, landing on the hard ground. The small pile of red and orange leaves he fell on did little to reduce the pain he felt.

Potter looked contentedly at at him, clearly pleased with his prank.

"So you need a girl to speak up for you now, do you, Snivelly?" Black mocked. Severus scowled.

"I don't need her help!" he exclaimed loudly, embarrassed by the fact the foolish Gryffindor was actually right.

However, Lily looked hurt.

"Is that how you were going to thank me?" Her voice sounded oddly quiet.

 _Apologise. Apologise and she'll forgive you, he told himself. But instead of an apology, he spoke the words that he would rue for the rest of his life._

"I said I don't want your help, Mudblood!"

 _No! What have you done? How could you?_ He regretted the word as soon as he said it. A part of him was furious, at himself and at Potter for causing the entire situation. The other, more rational part quickly registered that Lily was leaving and if she did, he would lose his last chance. He ran after her.

"Lily, I didn't mean that. I..." he called out, but was unable to finish his sentence. What would he say?

"Yes. Yes, you did Severus," she replied, running away. He could hear her sobbing and it pained him to know that he was the cause. Hurting her was the last thing he had wanted to do. A flower from her pocket fell out on to the grass. Severus picked it up and laughed bitterly upon seeing it, his own eyes turning wet at the sight of the little petunia. It was ironic, he thought, considering he had treated her no better than her sister had.

* * *

 _ **Lilies**_

 _And I can't wait to go home_

He could not get the conversation out of his mind.

The image kept repeating inside his head, and for the first time in a long time, he was found staring out of the window and not paying any attention. His teachers asked each other as to what was wrong with him, while' James Potter and his cronies found another reason to laugh, that day.

It wasn't just that she refused to speak to him or even look at him. It was the fact that he'd betrayed her in the worst way possible. All those days when they'd sat on the Hogwarts grounds and berated Potter for calling everyone cruel names...and he had turned into what he used to detest, if only for a moment and in anger.

He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't make it right, he knew. So that night, he snuck out of his dormitory and headed to the Gryffindor one. The Fat Lady adamantly stood in his way, as she was supposed to.

"Please," he begged, and something in his eyes must have shaken even the dead woman in the portrait, for she let him through without a word.

Lily was in the common room itself, wide awake despite the late hours. Hearing the door open, she turned her head.

Before Severus could say a word, she got up to leave, but he had already noticed her eyes were red from crying.

She rushed away into the girls' dormitory, and Severus followed, stopping in front of the stairs. She climbed them and closed the door to the dorms.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he said, hoping she could hear him.

She did not reply.

He knew she couldn't be asleep already, so he called out again.

"I didn't mean it, Lily. You know that."

"Go away," came the curt reply.

Severus wondered if he had ever felt this melancholy before, even through all the times his father had beaten him or his mother and called them harsh names. None of that hurt any more than losing Lily like this.

"I told you to leave," she repeated.

So he did, leaving an asphodel on the floor before the stairs, hoping she would find it before it wilted.

* * *

 _ **Notes: Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition**_

 _ **Position: Beater 1**_

 _ **Team: Kenmare Kestrels**_

 _ **Prompt: Write about a budding friendship on a spring day(s) OR losing a friend on an autumn night(s).**_

 _ **Optional Prompts:** **(emotion) bitterness, (word) asleep, (sound) sobbing, (emotion) melancholy, (song) Castle on the Hill - Ed Sheeran**_

 _ **Word Count: 1155 + song lyrics/ flower names + A/N**_

 _ **Flower meanings:**_

 _ **Yellow Rose: Friendship**_

 _ **Ivy: Friendship, Continuity**_

 _ **Petunia: Resentment, Anger**_

 _ **Asphodel (of the Lily family): Regret**_

 _ **I was trying to represent each stage of their friendship though a flower, as well as a part of the song, "Castle on the Hill". Hopefully, I succeeded in doing both. Also, I'm not sure if it's mentioned at exactly what part of the year Lily and Severus fought, but I just imagined it to be autumn.  
**_


End file.
